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Monday, February 13, 2012

Quick, Look This Up! - A New TOS Review!!

Everyone has trouble with spelling words ... you know those words that you seem to ALWAYS spell wrong no matter how hard you try to memorize the correct spelling. Let's face it - the English language is hard to learn and hard to teach.

So when I heard of a review product that would help my elementary spellers broaden their vocabulary and improve their spelling especially of commonly mistaken words I jumped at the chance to review it.

The Product:See-N-Spell is one of the products from See-N-Read reading tools. They created this 40 page quick reference guide to help writers (of any age, but designed for 4th grade and above) enhance their writing by choosing the word they really want to use instead of an easier word because of its ease of spelling.

See-N-Spell is designed from the 300+ most common vocabulary words used in the American English language and is made to be used " 'at a glance' for correct spelling and language function." At the front of the book it includes a "how-to" section, the table of contents, 29 pages with each letter of the alphabet separate, a commonly misspelled words section, and a spot for your own "special interest" words. On the alphabet pages you can quickly identify the part of speech the word is to be used. It also has a section on homophones (words that sound alike, but are spelled differently.)

The See-N-Spell is available for purchase for just $9.99. And right now, each purchase of the See-N-Spell also includes a See-N-Read Reading Tool for Free (normally priced at $2.99 each). The See-N- Read Reading Tool is a plastic reading bar that is tinted except for a clear reading window and is used to help younger children stay focused and even helps adults while reading complicated material. We use these reading bars when we first started teaching the girls to read so that they could concentrate on where they were reading and not get "lost" somewhere on the page.

Our Experience:The day that the See-N-Read came in it was put right to work. I have been working with Arianna on trying to expand her vocabulary, spelling and using the dictionary. This new product was just what she needed. It is small enough to keep on the table at all times (in lieu of the giant 4 inch thick dictionary) and she didn't mind looking words up (like she does when she has to go and get the dictionary.)

Because it is arranged alphabetically, Arianna was able to use this without much help. She also noticed that the pages had the parts of speech in bold so she would tell me "Hey, different is an adjective!" while she was in the process of finding the word she was looking for.

She really likes it - as you can see in the pictures above.

Audrie has gotten great use out of the Reading Bar. While she is still learning how to read, it has helped her to stay on task and focused on which sentence she is supposed to be reading. I don't have a picture of her using it, but that's because we are usually reading together while my youngest is napping and the oldest is doing on her own work, so I didn't have anyone around to take a picture. I'm hoping to get one of those soon, but she likes the size of it. It's a bit chunky so it's harder for her to lose or misplace in a book. ;)

My Thoughts:
I think both of these products are wonderful! I love the mini-dictionary feel that See-N-Spell has and that Arianna enjoys using the book. Audrie LOVES her reading tool. All in all this has been an awesome company that has awesome products and I would highly recommend them for every family - whether you homeschool or not!

*** I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2011-2012 Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of money for any of my reviews. My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences with the products and services that I receive.***